By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Hitting the 3-point shot is something the Delavan-Darien boys basketball team certainly is doing with regularity this year.
Nobody needs to convince Big Foot of that.
Delavan made 13 baskets from behind the 3-point arc Saturday night in a 66-63 non-conference victory. The loss dropped the Chiefs to 2-10 overall.
Heading into play this week, Delavan had made 121 3-pointers in 11 games – and that torrid shooting certainly didn’t stop against the Chiefs.
“They played with five players on the floor who could shoot the three,” Big Foot coach Mike Dowden said. “It just makes it tough to rotate to guard them.
“Of their 13 threes, four to five were from good offense, four to five were in the flow of the game and four to five were on second chances, (and those), especially second-chance threes, really hurt you.”
Even though his team was outscored 39-3 from 3-point land, the Chiefs stayed in the game right to the end, thanks to some well-timed looks at the basket from close range.
“We were getting the ball inside and using our strength – the inside game – versus their strength – the outside game,” Dowden said. “They hit a couple shots down the stretch, but it was a good battle the whole night.”
Big Foot led 33-29 at halftime, but was outscored 37-30 the last eight minutes, including 19-12 in the third quarter.
Nico Tovar led the Chiefs with 25 points, as he continually hurt the Comets inside, Dowden said.
“Nico had a great day, and they did not have a match to stop m inside,” Dowden said. “My hope is to see that grow as the season continues.”
Beau Cary added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Chiefs.
Host Beloit Turner got off to a quick start in the week’s first game and led 26-12 at halftime en route to a 47-34 Rock Valley Conference win.
The loss dropped the Chiefs to 1-5 in conference play.
“They are good basketball players and came to play,” Dowden said. “They play hard on both ends of the floor and made some shots early, got some good shots that they missed and suffocated us on defense. Once we settled into play, we were OK the rest of the game.”
Big Foot outscored Turner one point in the second half, but couldn’t overcome the slow start.
The struggles were similar to areas of the game that have hurt Big Foot all season, Dowden said, turnovers and shot making.
“Their aggressive zone demonstrated our inability to do both well,” he said.
Cary just missed a double-double, as he led the Chiefs with 15 points and nine rebounds. Alex Landers chipped in with four steals.
The steady development of Cary, just a sophomore, continues, Dowden said.
“I think the game is starting to slow down for him, and that is a good sign,” he said. “He still needs to get stronger, but the mental side of his game is growing very nicely.”
Big Foot hosted Edgerton Thursday night and travels to Evansville next Tuesday, Jan. 20.
The goals haven’t changed, Dowden said, as his team has now passed the halfway mark of the season.
“(We want) to get better over the next three weeks,” he said. “We have a stretch of three weeks in a row where we only play one game per week, and we need to use that to get better and to stay fresh.
“In addition, final exams are next week, so that will throw a wrinkle into the mix, but we need to use this time to improve and gear up for the rest of the year.”
